Posted by: Jerry Valadez Posted on: May 23, 2001 at 1:15 AM Message: Hi LInda. Great poster! A few thoughts in support of your comments on teacher leadership. In an important sense, the purpose of developing teacher leadership in science and mathematics has only one goal, to ensure that all students succeed in the pursuit of knowledge, in their personal worlds, and in the world of work. There is important research saying that teacher quality is the strongest link to learning and high student achievement (Educating Teachers of Science, Mathematics, and Technology, NRC, 2000). Science teacher preparation, development, and support elements within educational systems offer conduits through which any educational reform, including the implementation of national and state science standards, might influence teaching practice and student learning. What science is taught and learned depends not only on the curriculum, but also on the science teachers who implement the curriculum. Those teachers bring with them a certain predisposition and belief system that influence their teaching, therefore it is important to look at what teachers think and do that enables students to learn. Other elements such as school climate, retention policies, accountability designs, and the support for teachers in their work with students all shape what teachers are able to do in their classrooms. What actually happens in a particular classroom with a particular group of students depends fundamentally on teachers knowledge, beliefs, decisions, commitment, and support. Much has been written about the restructuring of the content students learn, the way it is taught, and the way the program is supported through professional development. Teachers understanding of teaching and learning in science and mathematics varies widely, in part, depending on their undergraduate or graduate education and subsequent professional development. Recent analysis by Linda Darling-Hammond (The Right to Learn, 1997) has shown that of the key variables effecting student achievement such as poverty, ethnicity, language, and location, are all dwarfed in comparison by teacher experience. This has serious implications for children of poverty, who also attend the poorest schools with the least experienced teachers. The alternative is to provide teachers with the knowledge, critical frames, and working environment where they will be able to think deeply about how to improve their practice (Loucks-Horsley, Designing Professional Development, 1998). Most teachers work alone and in isolation from their colleagues, so once the teacher leaders have been identified they must be nurtured and appreciated. It is important to pick teacher leaders who have already decided to focus on standards-based education and should be nurtured to ensure that they share a common vision with the principal, schools, and district.